CANON
RC-701 STILL VIDEO CAMERA - 1986.
Canon
was the first to market a still video camera, the professional model
RC-701
(one source states that the 1981 Sony Mavica was marketed, but this has
not been independently verified as of yet). The RC-701 was aimed
mainly at the press market. It had four dedicated interchangeable
lenses and also offered an adapter for 35mm lenses. Price of the
RC (RC stood for Realtime
Camera)
with an 11-66mm f/1.2 lens was about $3,000. The complete RC-701
system consisting of the camera, a player/recorder, a printer, a
laminator,
and a unit for phone transmission cost about $27,000. The CCD was
6.6mm x 8.8mm with 780 pixels horizontally. This was equal to about 300
horizontal
and 320 vertical lines on a TV monitor. The RC-701 had a swing-up
mirror similar to a conventional SLR and had shutter speeds of 1/8 to
1/2000
second. It could capture 1, 2, 5, or 10 frames per second.
Additional lenses included a 6mm f/1.6, comparable to a 24mm wide angle
35-mm lens, and a 50-150mm telephoto zoom. Both lenses were for
the
RC-701 only and could not be used on other cameras. Popular
Photography,
July 1986, p62. We believe we were the first digital camera
history web site to provide a photo and information concerning this
camera. http://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/svc443.html

CANON RR-551 STILL VIDEO PLAYER - 1986

CANON RC-701 Mirror System - Magazine
aticles of the time stated that the RC-701 had a flip-up mirror similar
to standard DSLR film cameras, but as shown by the photos above
submitted by Tom Thiele of Germany, the RC-701 had an unusal mirror
mechanism. Instead of flipping up, it moved downward and to the right
as seen from the front. If you are fortunate enough to own a RC-701,
check out this unusal mirror movement for yourself. Errors in reporting
such as this by professional photography magazines make you wonder how
much other misinformation is now permanently part of recorded history.
Thanks to Tom Thiele for setting the record straight on this
matter. We believe we were the first digital camera history web
site to provide a photo and information concerning this camera.

CANON RR-551 STILL VIDEO PLAYER/RECORDER - 1986. The
player/recorder in the complete Canon system mentioned above was the
RR-551, the world's first still video player/recorder to be marketed.
The RR-551 shown above, in excellent condition, was purchased on eBay
with manual, remote, floppies and several manufacturer's brochures for
$25.

CHINON STILL VIDEO CAMERA - 1986. Zoom
lens, multi-beam auto focus. Not produced.
At Photokina, Chinon, Fuji, Konica and Nikon all showed mock-up
versions of SLR still-video cameras. Chinon's black box appeared
without specs, but Fuji's has a zoom lens with macro mode, a built-in
meter and a range of shutter speeds approximating those of standard
35-millimeter cameras. Electronic Photography, John J. Larish,
1990, p20 and p33. We believe we were the first digital camera history web site to provide
a photo and information concerning this camera.

FIRST COMMERCIAL DIGITAL CAMERA - 1986. MegaVision
introduced a high-resolution 2000-line tube camera system called the
Tessera, the very first digital camera to be used in commercial
photographic applications. We believe we were the first digital
camera history web site to provide a photo and information concerning
this camera.

NEWTEK Digi-View - 1986, 1987, 1989. In
1986 the NewTek Digi-View, built to run on the Amiga platform, was the
first inexpensive video digitizer designed for home computers. It was developed to take advantage of the Amiga 1000's advanced video capabilities.
Digi-View was also the first personal computer digitizer to capture
4096-color,
photo quality images. Soon afterward, NewTek followed
with DigiPaint, which provided video painting capabilities within the
computer
system. It was developed to take advantage of the Amiga 1000's
advanced video
capabilities and was plugged into the Amiga's parallel printer port. A
video cable
then lead from the digitizer to either a B&W video camera with a
color
wheel attached, or to an external color splitter box. The DigiView took
3
passes to digitize a frame, and each pass was done by filtering through
one of
3 primary colors: red, green, and blue. This meant that the image being
digitized had be still or paused. The digitizer generally captured at
320x200
pixels with up to 4096 colors, but was capable of 640x200 pixels if the
system
had sufficient memory. Once all three captures were done, the
Newtek software
then merged them into a single color capture. Thanks to Patrick
Murphy for providing information
concering the Digi-View.Examples
of photos captured with the Newtek Digi-View and the Digi-View
digitizer .

NIKON
SVC (Still Video Camera) PROTOTYPE - 1986.
This camera was built around a 2/3-inch CCD of 300 000 pixels. It
allowed the analog recording of 25 or 50 images on a small floppy disk
of two inches, the same one as used by the Canon Ion to be marketed in
1988. The body of the SVC was designed similar to that of the
Nikon F801 film camera which was marketed two years later, Two
lenses were intended for the SVC, a 6mm f/1.6 and a 10 to 40mm
f/1.4. The Nikon SVC was shown at Photokina '85, but the
electronics were mainly by panasonic. Click on image to see
enlarged
view. We believe we were the first digital camera history web
site to provide a photo and information concerning this camera.

PHILIPS STILL VIDEO CAMERA CONCEPT - 1986/87.
Drawings and wooden models were made, but no prototype was built.
Philips was one of those companies that were slow to respond in this
market and did not have a consumer camera ready until 1997. Back
in 1986 and 87, Philips was involved in a concept study that
included some drawings and wooden mockups. Finally
coming to market eleven years after the initial Sony and Canon still
video cameras cameras, they were far behind the power curve from which
they never did fully recover.

SONY
MAVICA MVC-A7AF - 1986. The A7AF was
a still video camera which recorded images onto two-inch floppy disks
(MP-50) and the first to provide audo annotation.
One disk could hold up to 50 images in Field mode or 25 images in Frame
mode. The Field mode recorded on a single track of the disk while
the Frame mode required two tracks, but provided better quality
images.
While recording in Field mode ISO rating was 160, and 80 for Frame
mode.
The A7AF could also record 9.6 seconds of audio to accompany each image
by use of an additional recording track. Images were registered
by
a 2/3-inch charge coupled device (CCD) of 380,000 pixels. The
lens
was a 6X zoom, 12-72mm, f/1.4-1.7, with macro capability. The
lens
could be focused manually or automatically and had a focal plane
shutter
with speeds of 1/15 to 1/1000 second. The viewfinder was
TTL
(through-the-lens) with an adjustment for individual eyesight.
The
A7AF specifications included auto white balance, EV adjustment of + or
-2 in 0.5 EV steps, shutter priority and AE modes, self-timer, remote
control
option (RM-S7), date indicator, and shoe for an optional flash
(MFL-30).
Other options included an NP-4000 battery pack which could record
approximately
50 disks per charge, a DCC-2600A car battery cord, an MVR-A770 still
video
recorder/player, and a variety of optional microphones to supplement
the
built-in microphone. Normal operation was by six L40 (LR6)
alkaline
batteries and a button lithium battery (CR2025). Supplied
accessories
were an eyepiece cover, lens hood, shoulder strap, and the CR2025
button
lithium battery. Unusual features of the A7AF included a
recording
head contamination indicator and a moisture condensation indicator. The
A7AF was for recording only and playback required use of the Sony
MVR-A770
still video recorder/player shown below. Information concerning the A7AF is
from
an operating manual kindly provided by Mr. Charley Mack of Park West,
Chicago.
Also see Understanding Electronic Photography, John J. Larish,
1990,
p19 and Digital Photography,
Mikkel Aaland, 1992,
p15. We believe we were
the first digital camera history web site to provide a photo and
information concerning this camera.

SONY ProMavica
MVC-2000, 2000PF, 2010 - 1986/89/90.
The MVC-2000PF was a pre-production, hand-built camera sent to specific
photographers for testing. The production model went on sale in
1989. This analog still video camera had a 13X zoom lens and was
available only in NTSC. It was a one-CCD camera of 2/3-inch and
380K pixels. 48mm to 288mm f/1.4 zoom lens. Shutter 1/15 to
1/1000. MSRP in 1989 of $3,395. We believe we were the
first digital camera history web site to provide a photo and
information concerning the MVC-2000PF.

The
MVC-2000PF pre-production proofing version of the MVC-2000 is thus
extremely rare. In the past, Sony often hand-built prototypes
of upcoming cameras and distributed them to a few individuals for
testing prior to commencing full production. Those prototypes had the
PF designation added to the normal model number. Cameras such as
the Nikon QV-1000C which were produced in very small numbers (about 180
units for the QV-1000C) sell for astronomical prices among collectors
due to their rarity, however, even 180 units could be considered mass
production compared to the small number of hand-built prototypes such
as
the MVC-2000PF. Such being the case, there is virtually no limit on the
price a PF version might sell for at auction.

This
was one of our luckiest purchases ever. Another potential
bidder (see above email) who was aware of the rarity of the PF version, but
was out of town at the time of the sale. In 2017, a standard
production versions of the MVC-2000 was going for $400 or more.
The value of a PF version, only one of which we have seen on eBay
in the past twenty years, would be hard to guess.

The
MVC-2000 production version went on sale in 1989 and the MVC-2010, a
slightly modified version of the MVC-2000 which included audio record
capability, went on sale in 1990.

Images
recorded on the mini discs could be viewed on a TV through use of the still
video player. Basic Digital Photography, Norman Breslow, 1991, p79.

A word about
dates. While the exact date of the PF version cannot be
absolutely proven, It is obvious that a camera that went on sale in
1989 had to be in the works years before that, especially at this early
time in the development of electronic cameras. Exactly when
the hand-built PF version was constructed is of little relevance, what
is relevant is that it did and does exist. Since the 2000PF is
merely and updated, hand-built version of the Sony MVC-A7AF of 1986, it
is probable that is was constructed in 1986 or thereabouts.
Whenever possible, we use the earliest known date for a camera rather
than the on-sale date. Oftentimes, cameras have been shown or
discussed a year or two before actual marketing, sometimes as much as
four years beforehand. The reason we mention this is that some
sites make a really big issue of camera dating even though they also
state that the first known date is the most important one, but then
oftentimes show a date that is known to be the on-sale date rather than
the first known date. In the case of the 2000PF, one site makes a
big issue of the 1986 date while at the same time inferring that the PF
version did not exist at all. A rather questionable claim
considering that the label on the carton states MVC-2000PF, as does the
sticker on the bottom of the camera. An error in dating, if it
exists, is of little consequence to anyone, but stating that a camera
never existed is a major research error and one of significant
consequence. This is at least the second time that the operator
of this particular site has stated that a camera never existed and then
had to eat his words. As to the use of Hi-band by the MVC-2000PF,
the Hi-band standard was in the works well before it was implemented in
1988. Knowing this, Sony could have used Hi-band on the PF
version in 86 or 87 since they intended it to be on the marketed
version in 1989. In any case, making a major issue of the date of
a camera that you believe never existed seems to be rather unusual
logic to say the least

TOSHIBA IK-M10A - 1986. World's
first miniature single-chip color video camera (16.5mm diameter).
We believe we were the first digital camera history web site to provide
a photo and information concerning this camera.